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March 28, 2024, 10:04:56 pm

Author Topic: VCE Basics  (Read 3004 times)

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geminii

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VCE Basics
« on: July 06, 2014, 01:38:24 pm »
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Hey,
I'm trying to wrap my head around the whole VCE thing ~
- Could anyone please post an example of VCE subjects someone could take during years 10, 11 and 12? I can't seem to figure out when people do what subject.
- If you want to do, for example, Biology, can you do units 1-4 in one year? Or do you have to do 1/2 in one year and then 3/4 the next year?
Omg i'm soo confused, any help is appreciated! I'll post more if i have any more questions.
Thanks heaps!!  ;D
2016-17 (VCE): Biology, HHD, English, Methods, Specialist, Chemistry

2018-22: Bachelor of Biomedical Science @ Monash Uni

Zealous

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2014, 01:45:23 pm »
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This might help:

vce:
2013: Further [50] (+Premier's) | Methods [48]
2014: Physics [50] | Specialist | Accounting | English Language || ATAR: 99.70 + Australian Student Prize!
uni:
2015: Bachelor of Commerce and Engineering (Honours)

keltingmeith

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2014, 01:54:32 pm »
+2
My advice:
You're not even in year 10 - you don't need to completely understand the VCE system yet, you're not really going to be in it for another two years. Stress less, everything's going to be alright - your not going to fail life just because you had some trouble with VCE.

Having said that, I can understand why you'd be stressed by the whole thing, so we will still help you with your questions (sorry if I sounded harsh up there :) )

You can take any subjects you want in years 10-12 - the only exception I know of is specialist which must have been done with or after 3/4 methods (although I have now been made aware of some schools which do otherwise). I also know of some schools which won't let you do physics unless you're doing a year 12 maths at the same time, and my school won't let you do both music investigation and music performance at the same time. Really - the system is incredibly open to whatever you want with just a few little things you can't do, you're better off to put an example up of what you want and have someone (preferably from your school) tell you if that's okay.

But, you should be picking subjects based on what you might want to do after school and based on what you like - if you're only halfway through year 9, nobody expects you to have that figured out yet. If you do have that figured it, it will probably change - I know of one person who didn't change their mind from year 9 on what they wanted to do after school. So, try not to pick everything now and say "I'll definitely do this" - leave yourself some wriggle room for when you get to subject selections at the end of year 10.

Also, you HAVE to do 1/2 and 3/4 seperately. No negotiations there. But, you can do 3/4 without having done 1/2. VCAA only asks about if you've done 10 1/2 units to tick their boxes, not if you've done 1/2 units relating to the 8 3/4 units that you've done. The only 1/2 units you do that have to relate to your 3/4s are English, because you need 3 units of English.

EDIT: Aaaaaand Zealous has a video... Because I don't know what's in there and I have many many tirades in this post, I'ma leave this here, hahah.

geminii

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2014, 03:08:10 pm »
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This might help:

Ah this helped heaps! But I still don't get if I can do units 1-4 of a subject in one year or if I have to wait two years by doing units 1/2 in one year and units 3/4 the next?
Also, you HAVE to do 1/2 and 3/4 seperately. No negotiations there.
I don't get what you mean? Like do you mean we can't do a 1/2 and a 3/4 subject at the same time?.. Sorry! :-[
2016-17 (VCE): Biology, HHD, English, Methods, Specialist, Chemistry

2018-22: Bachelor of Biomedical Science @ Monash Uni

keltingmeith

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2014, 03:09:34 pm »
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Sorry - I meant that you can't do units 1-4 of a subject in the one year.

geminii

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #5 on: July 06, 2014, 03:19:03 pm »
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Ah kk  :)
2016-17 (VCE): Biology, HHD, English, Methods, Specialist, Chemistry

2018-22: Bachelor of Biomedical Science @ Monash Uni

brenden

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2014, 03:20:27 pm »
+1
Sorry - I meant that you can't do units 1-4 of a subject in the one year.
This can technically be done. I did Units 2 and 4 of Legal studies at the same time. (Didn't do unit 1 because I skipped straight to 3/4 and then I needed to escape a horrible Bus Man teacher and Legal was my only option top lel)
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geminii

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2014, 03:24:28 pm »
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Sorry - I meant that you can't do units 1-4 of a subject in the one year.
If you cant do 1-4 of one subject in one year, then dont you have to take heaps of subjects all at once to make sure you get them all done in time? How come they dont let you do unit 1 of a subject in term 1, unit 2 in term 2, unit 3 in term 3 and unit 4 of term 4 all in the same year?  :o
2016-17 (VCE): Biology, HHD, English, Methods, Specialist, Chemistry

2018-22: Bachelor of Biomedical Science @ Monash Uni

pi

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2014, 03:59:40 pm »
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How come they dont let you do unit 1 of a subject in term 1, unit 2 in term 2, unit 3 in term 3 and unit 4 of term 4 all in the same year?  :o

Generally 1 semester per unit is the rule.

Most people would do something like this:
yr10: year 10 subs + 1 Unit 1/2 subject
yr11: 5 Unit 1/2 subjects + 1 Unit 3/4 subject
yr12: 5 Unit 3/4 subjects

It's not really that complicated and it all fits in quite easily. Of course there are the high-achieving keen beans who want to do more than 6 VCE subjects and do uni enhancement subjects too, but the norm for a student aiming highly is as above.

AngelWings

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Re: VCE Basics
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2014, 04:12:37 pm »
+4
My advice:
You're not even in year 10 - you don't need to completely understand the VCE system yet, you're not really going to be in it for another two years.

But, you should be picking subjects based on what you might want to do after school and based on what you like - if you're only halfway through year 9, nobody expects you to have that figured out yet.

So, try not to pick everything now and say "I'll definitely do this" - leave yourself some wriggle room for when you get to subject selections at the end of year 10.

Euler's got a really good point. Actually, I discussed the bold stuff here: Re: Realistic goal setting
Seriously, your perspective of your own future will change over time.

Anyway, about the basics of VCE:
General Overview:
You MUST complete an English, regardless of whether it's: English, EAL (previously ESL) where applicable, English Language or Literature. As a VCE student, you will have to complete all four units of that and pass a minimum of 3.
Most will complete Maths, Psychology, Business Management, etc. and, except for English, the other subjects are really up to your choice.

VCE units are a semester long. It's that long, because in most subjects (actually, basically all), they will fit a LOT of information for you to learn and apply. i.e. It's a full semester's worth of work. Also, what Pi just said is true too.
Generally 1 semester per unit is the rule.

Most people would do something like this:
yr10: year 10 subs + 1 Unit 1/2 subject
yr11: 5 Unit 1/2 subjects + 1 Unit 3/4 subject
yr12: 5 Unit 3/4 subjects

Generally, students will study about 6 subjects in Year 11 (give or take 2) and, depending on how they fare and what they've completed, the number of Year 12 subjects studied as a Year 12 student will vary.

Choosing subjects:
Most schools won't even ask you much about VCE subjects until the back end of Year 9. Even then, the teachers will ask you what sort of subjects you want to do as a Unit 1 subject next year in Year 10 (if they think you're up to it). You don't have to even know what you're doing - just know what you like to study and work hard at it. The number offered usually depends on your school. Most do one or two. Three together as a Year 10 student gets a little cumbersome and hard to handle. (Most cases when somebody does 3, the last one is usually a language.)

The rest of your subjects are chosen in Semester 2 of Year 10 for Year 11 as Unit 1 subjects (and whether you want to continue your current Year 11 subject/s.) If you want, you may choose to change subjects and in some rarer occasions, you can drop a subject altogether. NOTE: Most of the time, it is quite difficult to change subjects between Unit 3 and 4, because you will be examined on all of the content at the end of the year.

Factors in choosing subjects:
Most students will choose their VCE subjects according to:
  • what they like to study. Let's face it... if you hate Art and you believe you can't draw/ paint/ do anything artistic well, then there's not a lot of point in doing it, unless it's necessary, which brings me to my next point.
  • the pre-requisite subjects for the course they'd like to do or even considering. Usually, this means something like a study score* of 20, 25, 30 or 35 from English (and slightly higher ones for EAL) and a 25,30 or 35 from a Maths subject.
  • what you are being forced into doing. If you're at a religious school, chances are you'll be told you HAVE to do religion. Sometimes, it's even having those strict parents that argue that "You'll never make a living if you're studying Music/ Art." so they force you into doing Accounting or something. Personally, I'd actually rebel in that scenario. Look, only one person knows what will benefit your future and that's you.

*Study Scores: After completing a Unit 3/4 subject, you will receive a number out of 50. It's a ranking against all the other kids doing that subject as part of their VCE. This number is called a study score.

Some other subjects that will count as part of your ATAR:
OK, so you may not like some VCE subjects, not a big enough range for you, you can't get it at your school or you just want something a little more practical. Some TAFE and VET courses count as parts of your ATAR (just a ranking system that spits out a number after completing VCE) too. These are typically more "hands on". If you can't get a subject at your school and you still want to study it, try a Distance Education program. These are usually still VCE subjects though, just not so much a regular classroom visit. Some people want to try the university life as well and some courses also count as a smaller percentage (5th/6th subject). These are usually filed as "Extension Programs" and typically tried when a student is in Year 12.
 
Other information
To be completely honest with you, now is only a good time to check out what sort of courses you might consider doing, but keep it broad. Something like: "I'd like to go to Melbourne University because it's closest." is much better than "I want to do this course at Melbourne University in a few years' time."
There is more than enough time for you now to be enjoying your early/mid teenage-dom, because VCE isn't that pretty. Seriously. It's a LOT of hard work and determination to put in.
If you want to know more about it, it's better to wait it out and all these terms, lingo, information, etc. will make sense eventually. If you're that curious, ask a few questions and stuff on here or ask a VCE teacher at school. 
VCE: Psych | Eng Lang | LOTE | Methods | Further | Chem                 
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